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DNA from discarded smoothie straw links Long Island man to 1984 teen murder
After four decades, investigators say they’ve solved the brutal killing of 16-year-old Theresa Fusco on Long Island. Prosecutors have charged 63-year-old Richard Bilodeau with second-degree murder after DNA from a smoothie straw allegedly matched evidence from the crime scene. FOX 5 NY’s Richard Giacovis reports.
LYNBROOK, N.Y. - More than four decades after Theresa Fusco was found murdered on Long Island, police say new DNA evidence has helped them find her killer.
Cold case breakthrough
What we know:
Richard Bilodeau was charged this week with killing the 16-year-old Fusco in 1984. Bilodeau was arraigned on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces 25 years to life in prison.
Investigators said new DNA evidence tied Bilodeau to the crime. They started monitoring Bilodeau last year and were able to extract Bilodeau's DNA from a discarded smoothie cup. That sample matched the one taken from Fusco's body.
Bilodeau lived with his grandparents in Lynbrook at the time of the killing, just a mile from the roller rink where Fusco was last seen, investigators said.
Officers arrested Bilodeau on Oct. 14.
Richard Bilodeau in Court. Inset: Theresa Fusco
What they're saying:
"Theresa Fusco’s life was violently stolen from her 40 years ago, and since then, her family has suffered an enduring pain and the lingering question of who committed such a heinous act," Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said in a press release. "…The past has not been forgotten. Today’s indictment stands as proof that no matter how much time passes, we will never stop fighting for victims."
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Fusco's father attended Bilodeau's arraignment on Wednesday, and said after more than 40 years, he finally has closure.
"I only loved her, and I miss her," said Theresa's father, Thomas Fusco. "That's all I can say. She lives in my heart."
Murder of Theresa Fusco
The backstory:
Fusco was last seen on Nov. 10, 1984, leaving the Hot Skates roller rink in Lynbrook. Police found her body a month later in the woods near the rink. She was beaten, raped and strangled to death.
Three men charged
Dig deeper:
Two years later, three men — John Kogut, John Restivo and Dennis Halstead — were charged with Fusco's murder. They were eventually convicted and spent nearly 20 years in prison.
New DNA testing in 2003 proved that none of the three men were connected to Fusco's murder, and the case went cold again, until the evidence linking Bilodeau.
What we don't know:
Officials have not said what might have motivated Bilodeau to attack Fusco.
What's next:
Bilodeau is due back in court on Nov. 21.
The Source: Information in this story is from the Nassau County District Attorney's Office and the Innocence Project.